Golden Players take centre stage

Saturday 29 November 2003

Article summary

Each national association has chosen its most outstanding player from the past 50 years.

Article body

Jubilee celebrationsTo help mark UEFA's Golden Jubilee year in 2004, each national association was asked by the European governing body UEFA to nominate one of its own players as the single most outstanding player of the past 50 years.

Fascinating mixtureWhat has emerged is a fascinating mixture of household names and surprises that reflect the variety and unpredictable nature of the European game.

Special displayThe 52 Golden Players, listed below, will find permanent recognition at the House of European Football in Nyon. A specially created display within UEFA's headquarters will feature all 52 stars, thus ensuring a permanent presence for each country's top player.

One per country"Alfredo Di Stéfano, Dino Zoff, Johan Cruyff, Michael Laudrup ... this list of Golden Players includes some of the really great players of all time, even if there's only one from each country," said Andy Roxburgh, the former Scotland coach, now UEFA's technical director.

Outstanding talent"It's terrific that the outstanding players of some of the smaller European countries can take their place alongside the more familiar names in a special display at UEFA's headquarters," Roxburgh added.

Law honoured"Incidentally, I'm delighted to see that Scotland have chosen Denis Law, my personal favourite, and an unforgettable player who typified the best of Scottish football - dynamic and adventurous."

Fans' choiceMeanwhile, football fans worldwide are being invited to make their voice heard through the 50-50 vote to identify the fans' choice of the 50 best European players of the past 50 years, regardless of nationality. Fans have until the 11 December to make their choice on uefa.com from pre-selected lists covering the five decades since UEFA was founded in 1954.

Social and apps links

The UEFA word, the UEFA logo and all marks related to UEFA competitions, are protected by trademarks and/or copyright of UEFA. No use for commercial purposes may be made of such trademarks. Use of UEFA.com signifies your agreement to the Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.